The Darkest Hour: Sacrifice
by Ithiel Dragon
Summary: [Sequel to The Darkest Hour: Redemption] On the run from Starfleet and with no allies to turn to, the Enterprise crew desperately tries to uncover the truth about the conspiracy within Federation before it is too late. (Slash. Kirk/Khan)
1. Chapter 1

Jim felt like his heart was ready to explode inside his chest. His harsh ragged breathing and the pounding of blood in his ears was almost deafening. Every muscle in his body was on fire, burning from over exertion and at the same time he felt unbearably cold. Even colder than he'd been marooned on Delta Vega. He couldn't stop trembling.

You're going into shock, a voice in his head, that sounded suspiciously like Bones, informed him helpfully. God, what he wouldn't give for Bones to be here now... Even if the doctor would probably scream at him and call him all kinds of an idiot for getting himself into this mess, it would have been worth it. If he made it out of this alive Jim would gladly accept any verbal abuse his friend decided to dish out. He wouldn't even complain once while Bones patched him up no matter how many times the doctor jabbed him in the neck with his damned hypos.

If he made it out of this alive...

It was starting to look like a pretty damned big if...

Keep moving. Just keep moving. The mantra in his head repeated over and over. If he stopped even for a moment to rest he was dead. No question. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how tired he was, no matter how impossible it seemed... he just had to keep moving. That's all he had to do...

Unfortunately no matter how much he willed it his body had other ideas. There was only so much abuse it could take and he had already been pushing himself harder and longer than he ever thought possible. Something had to give and it turned out to be his wounded leg.

Without warning it buckled, ripping a cry of pain tearing from Jim's throat in spite of himself. The burning pain in his upper thigh was already nearly unbearable changed into white hot agony at the jarring motion. He clutched at his thigh, the tourniquet wrapped above the wound had slowed down the flow of blood, but not by much. His trousers were completely soaked with blood by this point. He was probably leaving a more than obvious trail of blood behind him as he ran. Making it all too easy for their pursuers to track them.

"Get up!" The shouted command broke no argument, demanding obedience, and Jim tried, he really did, but he just couldn't move his leg anymore. The younger man shook his head in denial, heard a growled curse and then he was being hauled none too gently back to his feet. He grit his teeth to keep from screaming again, but it wasn't enough to silence a small moan of misery he made instead. But there was no sympathy in the iron grip digging into his arm, the older man all but dragging Jim along and the young man stumbled to keep up. He didn't think he'd ever hated the man beside him more than in that moment.

"You're such a bastard." Jim muttered under his breath, almost too soft for himself to hear, but he was sure the other man heard him given the snort of contempt he got in return. Then the other man all but threw them around the corner just as several phaser bolts whizzed past them so close that Jim could actually smell the heated ozone in the air. The only reason why Jim was still on his feet at the moment was because he was being held pinned between the wall and the other man's strong body as he returned fire around the corner.

Jim heard the dying scream of one of their pursuers and almost smiled. They deserved it. He allowed his forehead to drop weakly down onto the other man's shoulder. Enjoying the respite, as brief as he knew it would be, before he had to move again. All too soon the other man was pushing away from the wall and dragging Jim with him. Only Jim's legs refused to function any longer and he fell again. He knew he wouldn't be getting up this time.

"Go. Just go." Jim managed to croak out weakly before the other man could yell at him again. He couldn't run anymore, but if he was given the phaser he could probably still shoot. Enough that he could probably buy the other man some time to maybe get away. If he left Jim behind...

The elder man stood frozen for a moment, staring down at Jim, and the younger man could see him considering doing just that. Then, much to Jim's astonishment, he shook his head and he was hauling Jim up once more. Jim tried to protest, but between one second and the next the other man had lifted Jim over his shoulder. The sudden shift was almost enough to make Jim black out as what was left of his blood rushed to his head. The jarring motion as the other man started running, carrying Jim like a sack of potatoes over his back, made the younger man feel ill but he swallowed back his feeling of nausea and just concentrated on holding on as best he could so he wouldn't hinder the man or bounce too much.

The star base was built like a fucking maze. Jim had lost track of where they were a long time ago, but the other man still seemed to know where he was going. If they could just make it back to the rendezvous point in time then maybe they could beam out. Maybe...

More phaser fire erupted behind them and Jim was suddenly thrown forward. His vision went white as he hit the ground hard and slid several feet, ending up sprawled in a rather undignified heap. Somehow he managed to cling to consciousness. Fear pushing through the dark haze that tried to reach up and strangle him. Finally his vision cleared enough that he could see his companion, also sprawled on the floor not too far away from him. The other man wasn't moving and Jim could see why.

There was a large dark smoldering hole burned through the middle of the other man's back and a growing amount of blood soaking into the dark material of his shirt... a slowly growing pool of red began to form underneath him...

"No..." Jim moaned, trying to force his uncooperative body to move. Moving towards the other man. Their pursuers, knowing that they had won, were closing in fast now. Jim tried to crawl towards the phaser that the other man had dropped when he went down. If he could reach it then maybe he could at least take a few of the bastards down with them.

Before he could touch it, the phaser was kicked away and a boot roughly came down on Jim's hand, breaking several bones and making him cry out again in spite of himself. Laughter followed and the booted foot ground down a little harder on his hand making Jim grit his teeth, refusing to give them the pleasure of making another sound. Jim glanced over at the other man lying on the floor. He still hadn't moved. Was he even alive?

"Khan..." Jim whispered and then moaned in spite of himself when he was kicked in his stomach and roughly forced onto his back. A boot on his chest made it even harder for him to breathe and kept him from moving as he looked up at the men surrounding him. One of them had a phaser pointed directly at his face.

This was all Jim's fault. If he'd only listened...

_"... you're going to get yourself and everyone under your command killed."_

Pike's words came back to him and Jim almost choked on the sob that welled up in his throat.

Jim closed his eyes, waiting for the shot that would end his life.

* * *

[Three weeks earlier]

"Your move, Captain."

Jim flashed a scowl at the other man briefly before he resumed glaring at the tri-dimensional chess board in front of him.

"Captain..."

"Shut up. I heard you the first time." Jim snapped finally. The smug bastard was really starting to get on the younger man's nerves. The unmistakable gloating was bad enough. But every time the other man called him 'captain' now...

Where before his title had been used as practically an insult, the deep sensual tone had turned it into practically a caress that sent delicious shivers down Jim's spine. Jim had no doubt that Khan's voice, especially when he used that particular deep baritone, could get off a blind man, and Jim was far from blind. Jim shifted in his seat. All too aware of Khan's eyes on him, practically scorching in their intensity. He knew the bastard was doing it on purpose. It was a game Khan had been playing with him ever since that day Jim had walked in on Khan exercising, practically half naked, and Jim couldn't deny he'd liked what he saw. He was only human, after all, and definitely _not_ blind.

Jim honestly wasn't sure what to think of it all. Mostly it was a nuisance. He suspected Khan was doing it mostly in an attempt to make him uncomfortable. It didn't work. At least, not in any more than the occasional physical sense when Jim tried to ignore an unexpected erection. Which he couldn't really be blamed for. It had been quite a while now after all.

But he certainly had no plans on doing anything about it. Forgetting the fact that it would be highly immoral given the man's status as a prisoner and under Kirk's protection and all that. It was _Khan_. Much of Jim's anger at the man might have dissipated after everything that had happened, after learning just what Khan had gone through which had pushed him to his actions, but that certainly didn't _excuse_ what Khan had done. Despite Bones' opinion otherwise, Jim _was_ capable of thinking with his upstairs brain, and even though he could admit that Khan was attractive didn't mean he would ever act on it.

Surely Khan knew that, so his aim must be to simply be as annoying as possible. Or he was trying to distract Jim, which he was sad to admit, it was pretty effective. Jim frowned as he attempted to focus on the chess board in front of him once more, ignoring the other man's all too knowing gaze following his every move on the other side of the barrier.

He was really beginning to hate this game.

It had been nearly a week since they left New Vulcan. Khan had given them coordinates to several locations that he knew Section 31 had in the past used as a base of operations and they were still trying to gather as much information about the locations as they could before determining if any of them could be infiltrated. Jim knew time was of the essence, but he also knew they were only going to get one shot at this and he didn't want to go into anything half cocked.

The _Va'khen _was currently orbiting a small moon of an uninhabited planet, the rings of which Spock had reassured should render the Vulcan ship undetectable should any Starfleet vessels pass nearby. Uhura spent most of her time on the bridge, when she wasn't resting, monitoring Starfleet frequencies. Spock and Chekov were busy gathering information about each coordinate, which basically left the rest of them with the responsibility of babysitting Khan.

Jim still didn't really trust the man enough to leave him alone without any supervision for extended periods of time. So they all took shifts guarding the man in the brig when they weren't busy with other tasks. One day, out of sheer boredom (or maybe to give Khan something else to do other than stare at Jim the entire time) Jim had brought a tri-dimensional chess board with him to the brig.

He was beginning to consider it one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever made.

In all honesty, Jim had been surprised when Khan had agreed to play the first time. The man was always abrasive at the best of times. But he must have caught the man in the right mood, or Khan was just as bored as Jim was, because the man didn't even mock Jim once for his offer to teach him to play. He simply agreed and Jim set up the board, a little stunned, while he explained the rules to the other man.

At first Jim had a distinct advantage having played the game for years. Not surprisingly Khan caught on fast and Jim couldn't deny he was impressed. The man really was a brilliant tactician, even though he seemed to have a little trouble at first thinking three dimensionally, soon he was giving Jim a run for his money. They played almost every time Jim came to the brig now. Jim grumbling half the time he moved Khan's pieces or levels for him, while Khan sat on the other side of the barrier looking all too smug as he completely trounced the younger man.

Jim had really thought he had the older man a few moves back. Now it looked like he was going to chalk this one up as another loss, much to his displeasure, unless he managed to pull a miracle out of thin air... So much for not believing in no win scenarios... Jim reached for one of his pieces with an air of resignation. He could already feel the other man gloating.

_"Spock to Captain Kirk."_ Spock's voice over his communicator was a very welcome reprieve.

"Go ahead, Spock."

_"Captain. You are needed on the bridge immediately." _

"On my way." Jim answered, leaving his chess piece untouched. He flashed Khan an unapologetic grin, and bit back a laugh at the almost petulant look on the augment's face before the elder man quickly schooled his features into his normal impassive mask.

As he left the brig, Jim commed Bones to ask him to take his place for the time being, then rushed to the bridge. His heart began to pound a little in anticipation. Jim had never liked playing the waiting game and he hoped this meant that Spock had found something they could use. When he reached the bridge Spock was standing next to Uhura's station and it was she who addressed him when he arrived.

"Captain. I've intercepted an urgent coded transmission from a Federation facility known as Cold Station 12." Uhura stated.

"Cold Station 12? Isn't that..." Jim turned to Spock for confirmation.

"Yes, Captain. One of the coordinates that Khan gave as a possible base of operations for Section 31 is this particular facility." Spock informed him.

"What's the transmission?" Jim asked, turning back to Uhura.

"It's a distress call, Captain."


	2. Chapter 2

"Good afternoon, Mr. Singh." Dr. Leonard McCoy said as he walked into the brig of the Vulcan ship with an air of determination.

As usual these days, the man behind the barrier of corundum-silicate glass did not even bother to glance up from the data pad he was reading to glance at him when he entered. Pretending to ignore the doctor's existence as though he were insignificant. Leonard merely sighed and tried not to roll his eyes. For a three hundred year old warlord, the man could act very childish sometimes.

The man had been barely cooperative when he definitely needed medical attention. Now that Khan had deemed himself 'perfectly fine' the man was practically impossible to deal with. Unfortunately, Khan was anything _but_ perfectly fine. The fact that his scans and blood tests still showed that the augment's cell regeneration rate was far below where it should be was something that the man simply couldn't hide. Also the fact that Khan still wasn't eating as much as he should be was a pretty good indication that the man wasn't feeling as well as he pretended to be.

It was a good thing that Leonard McCoy had plenty of experience dealing with stubborn patients.

"We might as well get your check up done now, before Jim comes back." The doctor said, keeping his tone light and professional as he set his medical kit down on the small table next to the cell. Nudging aside the chess board already occupying it out of the way in the process. Looking at the game, Leonard shook his head slightly. Still a bit mystified that Jim had managed to get the other man to play chess with him of all things. Though Leonard still wasn't sure which surprised him most. That Jim had made the initial offer, or that Khan had accepted.

Maybe he should ask Jim what his secret was, since Leonard could barely get the augment to agree to a simple blood test these days. He took out his tricorder and fluid extractor then approached the brig barrier. He easily made an opening in the malleable glass large enough for Khan to put his arm through before he addressed the man again.

"Please put your arm through the opening, Mr. Singh." He urged, then waited patiently for the other man to comply. Leonard had found one of the best ways to deal with the man was to behave as though Khan had already agreed to whatever you suggested, because actually getting the man to agree to it was damn near impossible.

Apparently today was not going to be one of those days.

"I thought I made myself clear, Doctor. I no longer require your assistance." Khan finally spoke, his voice cool and emotionless. Still not looking up from his data pad. "I would have thought even a man or your limited intelligence would have understood what that meant by now."

"Since I'm the doctor, why don't we let me be the judge of whether you need my help, hm?" Leonard replied calmly, refusing to be baited.

He recognized the behavior for what it was. A defensive mechanism, and a pretty damned good one. Given the amount of trauma the man had been through, it was even expected. Anyone less stubborn than Leonard McCoy probably would have given up and washed his hands of the man a long time ago. But he had always taken his oaths as a doctor very seriously. He didn't _have_ to like all of his patients in order to treat them.

That was probably a good thing.

Leonard continued to stare at Khan, and Khan continued to ignore him. Finally the doctor gave a small sigh.

"You know, this brig allows me several options to render you unconscious if I have to in order to do my tests. But I'd rather not do that. So will you please cooperate and put your arm through the opening, Mr. Singh." He said and Khan finally did look up at him at that. The man's face was a stony mask, giving nothing away, as he slowly stood and walked over to the barrier. Pulling up the sleeve of his dark shirt as he did so.

Leonard gave a small nod and prepared the extractor while he waited for the other man to put his arm through the barrier. When Khan finally did so, Leonard placed the extractor against the skin of the man's inner arm. He was not prepared for the sudden violent movement of that arm, knocking the extractor out of his hand and grabbing the front of his shirt. With a strong yank, Khan effectively slammed Leonard's body against the glass, stunning the doctor more than a little. He couldn't help but stare at the other man with wide eyes as Khan brought their faces close together.

"As you can see, I am not as defenseless as I once was, Doctor. You would do well to remember that the next time you dare threaten me." Khan said, his words all the more threatening for how calm and controlled the man seemed. But since the man had only grabbed his shirt, instead of his neck, Leonard forced himself to remain calm, frowning at the other man, but otherwise refusing to be intimidated.

"What are you so afraid of?" Leonard asked calmly, and there was a momentary flash of surprise on Khan's face before it was wiped away and replaced with anger.

"What?" Khan practically growled, and despite the fact that Khan looked like he had just paid him the most grievous insult ever, Leonard knew he must have hit the mark.

"Like you said, you're not defenseless. I'm just a mere human. I probably couldn't stop you from killing me if you really wanted to. So, what are you so afraid of? I am not trying to hurt you, Khan. I'm trying to help you." As Leonard spoke several emotions flashed across Khan's face too fast for the doctor to really read them, finally settling on rage. For a moment Leonard thought that Khan might actually take him up on his 'offer' and kill him, but instead the augment merely snarled viciously before releasing Leonard abruptly, turning, and stalking away from the glass barrier.

Leonard let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding and smoothed a hand down the front of his shirt. He watched the other man with a frown. Khan stood in the center of his cell, his back to him, and his posture so rigid he could have been carved from stone. He had no idea what was going through Khan's head right now, but Leonard had a feeling he should choose his next move very carefully.

"Khan..." He began, but Khan cut him off before he could say anything else.

"If you value your life at all, _Doctor_. You'll be silent." Khan's words were hard and unforgiving. And a promise.

Deciding maybe it was best to give the other man a few moments to compose himself, Leonard retrieved his tricorder and fluid extractor from the floor and returned them to his medical kit for the moment. Then he sat down in the chair which Jim had only recently vacated, and stared at the chess board in front of him.

From the looks of things the game was nearly over, and Jim probably wasn't too happy about that. Leonard picked up one of the few pieces that Jim had managed to capture from Khan and examined it thoughtfully for a few minutes. A bishop. Leonard wasn't very good at the game and only agreed to play with Jim on rare occasions. He couldn't help but wonder however if the piece had been really won, or sacrificed by Khan in order to gain a tactical advantage. Maybe that's why Leonard had never really been good at the game. He didn't really believe in sacrificing for the greater good.

Remembering his words to Jim, god that seemed so long ago now, regarding Khan. That maybe the experiments on Khan could do some good before they locked the man away, made guilt flare up sharply in his chest. Of course that was before he had known what was actually happening to the man, and Leonard had still been very angry that Khan's actions had killed so many people, and almost killed Jim too on top of everything. Still, he never should have said such a thing.

Khan still thought of him like the doctors and scientists who had done all those horrible things to him. Somehow he had to convince the man that he was different, if he wanted Khan to trust him enough to let him help him.

* * *

"Alright, so what do we know about Cold Station 12?" Jim asked, turning to Spock expectantly.

"According to records, Cold Station 12 was reportedly a top-secret medical facility jointly operated by both Terrans and Denobulans. Its main purpose was the storage of hazardous viruses and pathogens for study. Its lesser known function was the storage of over 1,800 frozen embryos of 20th century augments from the Eugenics Wars." Spock stated calmly, and Jim's eyes went wide, his mouth falling slightly agape.

"You're _kidding_ me!" Jim finally managed. Spock merely raised an eyebrow, as though Jim might have offended him for even suggesting that Spock was capable of 'kidding'.

"No, Captain." The half Vulcan finally stated simply before he continued with his explanation. "The facility was abandoned following the attempted theft of the embryos and the release of the pathogens stored aboard the facility. It was reported that the embryos were destroyed and the facility abandoned when decontamination procedures ultimately failed. If the distress call is indeed originating from the facility, it appears that the records are incorrect."

Jim snorted.

"Yeah, or deliberately falsified." The young man stated with no small amount of disgust. Spock gave a small nod.

"That is also a possibility, Captain."

Jim sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"This has got to be a trap." He finally said, almost to himself. Could they be any more obvious about it? Seriously? A distress signal out of the blue from a research facility that should have been abandoned decades ago. A facility with a history of not only viral research, but with ties to the _augments_ as well. Jim had to admit, it was a nice touch. Something that would be very difficult for Khan to ignore. The bait couldn't be any more obvious if they hung a damned sign on the front door saying, 'we're trying to trick you, come on inside.'

Jim wasn't sure whether or not to feel insulted. Did they really expect him to fall for something like this?

"That possibility is highly probable, Captain." Spock agreed.

Then again, knowing what they knew about Section 31, the idea of them being this _obvious_ was pretty unlikely. The facility was obviously _not_ abandoned as the records indicated. The fact that they had been deliberately falsified meant that some effort had gone into keeping the facility secret until now. Maybe there had been some kind of emergency. The station had been originally designed for research on viruses and if Section 31 was designing bio-weapons... it would be the perfect place. Which meant, maybe, just maybe, the evidence they needed to blow the whole conspiracy open was right there for the taking.

Was it worth the risk?

Jim frowned deeply before finally turning to Uhura.

"Uhura, keep monitoring the signal. Let me know if anything changes. Spock, see if you can did up any more information on the facility. I'll be right back." He said, then quickly left the bridge, practically jogging back to the brig.

Bones was sitting in Jim' chair when he arrived, looking over something on a data pad. Khan was kneeling on the floor in the middle of his cell performing what looked like a Vulcan meditation of all things. Bones looked up at Jim when he arrived, apparently surprised that Jim had returned so soon.

"That was quick." The elder man stated, confirming Jim's suspicions.

"Yeah. Can you give us a minute, Bones?" Jim asked, and the doctor seemed all too happy to comply. Grabbing his medical kit as he got up. Jim raised an eyebrow at the older man's quick exit, a silent question. Had something happened? Bones merely shook his head, and Jim figured if it was something serious then the doctor would let him know later. Jim waited until McCoy had gone before addressing Khan.

"Hey, I need to talk to you. What do you know about Cold Station 12?" Jim asked.

For a few moments Khan didn't respond, and when he did the other man didn't even look at him. It made the younger man a little more concerned that something had indeed happened while he'd been away, but before he could begin questioning the augment about it the older man finally answered.

"Nothing. Why?"

"Well, we intercepted a distress call." Jim replied, and then went on to describe to Khan what they knew about the facility. Once he was finished, Khan finally stood gracefully from his kneeling position and turned to face Jim. His expression was incredulous.

"Even you are not so foolish to be unaware this is an obvious trap. So why are you bothering me with this?" Khan asked with a frown. For some reason, Jim couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, that's what I thought to. But then again, it's so damned obvious that maybe there's something to it after all. Besides, if it is a trap... well, knowing there is a trap is the first step in evading it, right?" Jim answered. Khan didn't seem all that convinced.

"It is a foolish risk."

Maybe Khan was right. It was pretty damned risky. But it was also the only real lead they had right now. It could be exactly what they were looking for, and despite the risk, Jim was unwilling to simply dismiss it.

Jim walked over to the chess board that was still set up outside of Khan's cell. The pieces were still exactly where they'd been when Jim had left. He was nearly in checkmate and there wasn't much he could do about it. Still, defying no-win scenarios was his specialty, right?

"Yeah, it's pretty risky. But if it pays off..." Jim said, reaching for one of his pieces and moving it. It was a risky move, one that could definitely backfire on him. But at least it saved his king for a little while. He looked at Khan and saw the augment watching him with an unreadable expression.

"Are you telling me with your big super brain you couldn't come up with a plan?" Jim asked, and though Khan scowled at him there was definitely a new light in the older man's eyes at the challenge.


	3. Chapter 3

Khan wondered if Kirk would ever cease to surprise him.

Almost against his will, Khan's eyes drifted to the tri-dimensional chess board that had been set up just outside the barrier of his prison. Their game, all but forgotten when Kirk left the brig, once more intriguing for a different reason.

It was not dissimilar from the game that had been popular in his own time. The new rules and style of play however did make the game more complex and interesting in of itself and Kirk was surprisingly skilled at it. Of course the younger man was no match for his intellect and strategies once Khan got used to the differences, but surprisingly Khan found he enjoyed their games more than he would have expected.

To say he had been surprised when Kirk had brought the game and offered to play it with him the first time would have been an understatement. Sheer curiosity made him go along with it, which almost seemed to surprise Kirk as much as Kirk's offer had surprised him. Of course at first Khan had suspected some kind of ulterior motive. He did not know what Kirk was planning, but if Kirk _did_ have an ulterior motive, he had not yet been able to discern it however. Their games had become a... welcome distraction from the otherwise monotony of his cell.

He could not deny that Kirk intrigued him. The boy was contradiction after another.

Khan recalled their first meeting face to face. When the thrill of battle still sang in his veins and the blood of his enemies had not even begun to dry on the ground where it had spilled. He had just killed dozens of Klingons single handedly and he had stood before Kirk, weaponless but far from defenseless. Kirk knew it as well as he did. Yet the young man had still attacked him without hesitation. At any moment Khan could have stopped it. Instead he stood still in the face of Kirk's fury until the younger man exhausted himself with it.

It was both a savage and pathetic display. Just one of the many contradictions that made up Kirk. The young man had fairly teamed with murderous anger towards him, and yet his conscience prevented him from seeking vengeance and simply killing Khan outright. Yet that strange sense of nobility that the younger man possessed that prevented him from handing Khan over to his own Starfleet Admiral had not stopped Kirk from trying to use him and then betray him. At the same time, Kirk's hatred of him had not stopped the younger man from later seeking him out and rescuing him from the Starfleet scientists. Of course he knew the reasons behind Kirk's actions. Khan was, after all, a valuable source of information that Kirk wished to exploit. Kirk had readily admitted that and Khan actually respected the younger man for not attempting to lie to him about that fact. Yet, the younger man had not tried to force him to divulge his secrets when Khan had initially refused, which lent a little more credibility to the young captain.

He had repaid Kirk's assistance in rescuing him from his would be kidnappers by the offer of his blood to heal the man and Vulcan after their near assassination, then giving Kirk the information he requested. Their temporary truce was a shaky one at best. They were using each other, it was as simple as that. Khan had information that Kirk needed, and at the moment Khan was willing to barter that information in exchange for the lives of his people.

But now there was something else. Something far less expected.

Kirk's unexpected sexual attraction for him. Khan had noticed it immediately of course. He was far from blind, even if he had been a bit distracted by pain at the time. It had been a petty, but satisfying, revenge throwing that attraction back in the young man's face in an attempt to shame him. Only Kirk had not been shamed. Surprised perhaps. But not shamed.

It was a bit of a game now. Much more intricate than their little chess matches. He would taunt the younger man. Nothing overly suggestive. Just a slight change in the inflection of his voice was usually enough. Or sometimes Khan would allow his gaze to linger a little longer than was polite. It was quite amusing to watch the normally cocky young man squirm. But beyond being amusing Khan also knew there were distinct advantages to being a very attractive example of the human species. It certainly wouldn't be the first time he had used sex in order to give him an advantage. Sex tended to make even intelligent men stupid, their minds clouded by desire and sentiment. Whether Kirk, who was actually an above level of intelligence despite what initial impressions suggested, yet another fascinating contradiction about the younger man, remained to be seen.

Yet here was Kirk now. Not simply asking him for information, but his assistance in actually formulating a plan. Khan could easily lead them straight to their doom if he wished. Was the younger man really so foolish as to trust so easily? Khan would be very disappointed if that was the case.

"_You_ are asking _me_ for advice?" Khan asked, his expression giving nothing away even though his tone was a little incredulous. Of course he was remembering he and Kirk's last... alliance... which had not ended well for either of them. Yet, here was Kirk again asking for his help.

Kirk frowned at him a little before answering.

"You have just as much at stake in this as any of us. We'll all have a better chance at getting what we want if we work together. " Kirk reminded him and the boy certainly had a point. It wasn't as though Khan would gain any advantage by betraying them now. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. For the moment. Khan could certainly respect Kirk's willingness to use any weapon at his disposal in order to ensure his task succeeded.

"Very well. Captain..." Khan replied, his tone for once not mocking or taunting. Now was not the time for games. Already his mind was racing. Examining and discarding various scenarios. They didn't have much in the way of information or resources and that certainly made things more difficult... risky... but not impossible. It would really all depend on just how much Kirk was willing to put on the line in order to achieve his goal.

* * *

"I am unconvinced that this is a wise course of action, Captain." Spock stated, once Jim had finished telling the assembled crew members his plan for infiltrating Cold Station 12. Spock had not been the only one to voice his concern. In fact, Dr. McCoy had been the most vocal so far against the proposed plan. But it was Spock who Jim finally addressed once the small commotion had died down.

"Look, I never said it wouldn't be risky." The young human stated matter-of-factly. Spock decided not to point out that the term 'risky' was hardly adequate to describe the nature of this plan. "But right now its the only lead we've got, risky or not, we've got to check it out. We're getting nowhere."

The captain certainly had a point regarding their lack of progress so far. Since learning about the possibility of continued corruption within Starfleet they had done little more than confirm that a conspiracy was indeed taking place. Though they had a little bit more information than when they started, the involvement of Section 31, the possible production of bio-weapons, and their adversary's possible goals thanks to Khan, they were still no closer to finding out exactly who in Starfleet was behind the conspiracy nor did they have the means of stopping them. Still, Spock was not convinced that their previous lack of progress necessitated a plan this dangerous with so little guarantee of payoff.

However Spock did wonder if his misgivings were only due to the nature of the plan itself, or because Khan had a hand in creating it. There was no doubt that Khan was a brilliant tactician. The plan itself was ingenious, and despite the danger, had a high enough probability of success. But given how their last alliance with the augment had ended...

_I'm not aligning with him, I'm using him._

Those had been Jim's answer to Spock's concerns about trusting Khan before. Those concerns had proven to be valid, and his opinion had not changed. Though it was a possibility that their previous experiences were clouding his judgement. Was it possible that his... feelings... were getting in the way of making a logical decision regarding the plan?

Still, it was his duty to support his captain's decisions, especially in front of the rest of the crew members.

"If all goes according to the plan, the chance of success is highly probable." Spock forced himself to admit and Jim beamed at him.

"That's the spirit." Jim stated. Spock wasn't sure if Jim heard Dr. McCoy's grumbling under his breath of _'Yeah, and how often do things ever go according to plan?' _or not, but with his enhanced hearing it was impossible to miss. While Spock agreed that their plans never seemed to go completely according to the plan, ultimately their success rate was much higher than one would expect.

Therefore they all listened while their captain reiterated the plan in more detail. Each crew member giving their opinion on various elements, sometimes suggesting alternative methods based on their area of expertise. Once the plan had been finalized, they all returned to their posts. Dr. McCoy still grumbling softly under his breath but he had not offered any more protest during the meeting itself. Leaving Jim and Spock alone together in the small conference room.

"What's on your mind, Spock?" Jim asked, and the half-Vulcan knew the younger man was asking as both his captain and his friend. Spock folded his arms behind his back and considered his words carefully before answering. However before Spock even opened his mouth, Jim was interrupting him.

"Let me guess, this has to do with Khan." Jim said, a hint of amusement coloring his tone.

"What makes you say that, Captain?" Spock asked, curious in spite of himself. Because, Jim was correct, his concerns certainly pertained to the augment. But he wasn't sure why the young man would be amused by this.

"Because every time you get ready to talk about him you look like you've been sucking on lemons or something." Jim stated with a small laugh. Spock raised an eyebrow but otherwise kept his face completely blank, which only seemed to amuse the young man more.

"Captain, I do not believe my concerns are unjustified." Spock said seriously.

"I didn't say they were." Jim replied, also serious now.

"And yet, you involved Khan in the creation of this plan." Spock stated flatly, leaving the implied _'when he can, and will, betray us again at any given time.'_ unspoken.

"Spock, can't you see, that's _why_ I involved him?" Jim asked and Spock's eyes narrowed a little in confusion.

"I do not understand, Captain."

"You're right. We can't trust him as far as we can throw him. He could turn on us again at any time, as soon as its in his best interest. Right now, he's got no real choice but to help us, but what happens when he doesn't need us anymore?" Jim asked, and shook his head. Spock didn't answer, knowing the question was a rhetorical one. They both knew exactly what would happen. "So I'm trying to give him a reason not to turn on us when the time comes."

Both of Spock's eyebrows went up in surprise at that.

"You are trying to befriend Khan?" The half-Vulcan asked with no small amount of disbelief. This was the reason Jim was spending so much time with the augment?

"Well, I wouldn't put it quite like that." Jim replied with a small laugh. "More like, mutual respect."

"That seems highly unlikely." Spock stated.

"I'm not too sure about that. Believe me, you don't have to remind me who and what he is. I haven't forgotten. But there were plenty of times he could have let me die and he didn't. He even saved you once. I don't think he's as cold-blooded as he'd like everyone to believe." Jim said with a small shrug.

Spock certainly didn't enjoy the reminder that he owed his life to the augmented human. He was also not convinced that Khan had offered his blood to heal both him and Jim because of any kind of altruism. More the reason Jim had stated before. Khan had needed them alive at the time far more than he needed them dead. However as soon as that was no longer the case...

"Have you considered he may be trying to manipulate you, Captain?" Spock finally asked and Jim laughed again.

"Oh, I know for certain he is. But that doesn't mean I can't manipulate him right back." Jim replied with an impish grin that may have seemed out of place in the situation if it were anyone else. But this was simply part of Jim Kirk's nature. Jim had played with fire on more than one occasion and come out unscathed. Spock had hoped that his friend's recent brushes with death might have curbed some of the young man's reckless nature. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case, at least, in regards to putting _himself_ in danger.

"Jim..." Spock started, but Jim cut him off when the young man approached him and placed a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, trust me on this, alright? I know what I'm doing." Jim said, giving Spock's shoulder a slight squeeze. Before Spock could answer, Jim's com beeped.

_"Captain Kirk, you're needed on the bridge." _Uhura's voice interrupted anything either man might have said.

"On my way, Lieutenant." Jim answered, giving Spock one last reassuring smile before the young man's hand slipped off his shoulder and he walked out of the room.

As Spock watched Jim leave, he couldn't help but recall Nyota's words to him when he'd confessed his anger towards Jim for continuously risking his life for others. Nyota had asked him if he were really angry at Jim for risking his life, as Spock was forced to admit it was something that Jim had always done, and on occasion Spock even admired his friend for his selflessness. Or if he'd been angry at Jim because the young man had risked his life for _Khan_. An enemy rather than an ally or a friend.

As Spock felt the now familiar bitter twist of fear and anger curling in his stomach, he knew he still had no answer for that question, even though it seemed a very important one. Meditation had not helped him understand his feelings before. Most likely it would not help him now but having few other options Spock made his way to his own quarters rather than following Jim to the bridge. If their mission was to succeed, he would need a mind clear of such conflicting emotions.

* * *

Author's Note: Alright, so I'm thinking about getting a beta for this story, as this fic is getting a lot longer and more complicated than initially planned and therefore getting a little more difficult to write.

Basically looking for someone to read over to catch any grammar mistakes I might miss while editing, and to tell me when they think the characters may be getting OOC as that is very important to me. I want the characters and situations to be as believable as possible and not clichéd. I also want someone I can maybe from time to time bounce ideas off of if I'm not sure what direction I want my story to go. Ideally this would be someone who had knowledge of both the new movies, and the original series.

Just a note, even if you don't want to help beta the fic, I'm always interested in hearing people's ideas on the story. It can be really inspiring, so always feel free to ask questions regarding the direction of the fic, the characters actions, or even offer ideas of what might happen. Never know, might see your idea in the fic later on ;)

So if anyone is interested, feel free to contact me through reviews or private message and we'll go from there. Thanks everyone.


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